11 Steps to Choose a Long Series (or 100 Day Project)
If you are still deciding on a project for a long series, try these steps to make and cull a list to find a sustaining, nourishing, satisfying project you will love.
Have you made a decision about doing the 100 Day Project?
We are just a few days out now from the official start of the official “The 100 Day Project” (if you get caught up in everything being exactly official). There are always a lot of spin-offs of a popular challenge like this one, but the start for the original is February 18 (2024). (Date updated for 2024)
In my last post (pre-100 Day Project 2023), I went through my own thinking about this year’s project, whether I’m for sure in, maybe in, or not in, and what ideas I have been toying with for a daily series to run from late February-May. That’s good timing for me because I often do the Index-Card-a-Day (ICAD) challenge in June and July, so I like the winter start for the 100 Day Project.
(➡️ See my 2024 pre-100 Day Project post)
Thinking through my options was really helpful. In that process, I found two ideas that really had resonance for me, and I’ve experimented a bit to see if I think either has “the right stuff” for a sustaining, nourishing, challenging enough, and satisfying creative series.
It has to be all of those things for me.
It also has to be “doable,” meaning I have what I need or am willing and able to buy what I need, can be accomplished in the windows of time I have, and will still allow me to keep up with my daily illustrated journal. (I can’t take on a big project that will really cut into that time.)
Of the two ideas that really grabbed me, I think one is one I want to pursue. It’s captivated me just enough, and I think it will fit easily into my #illustrateyourweek journal process. (In 2023, this was a stone lantern series.)
I don’t like to declare my project until I start it, so I’ll hold off for the moment, but I want to help you find a project you’ll feel good about, too, one that you think would be excited to spend at least a few minutes with every day for 100 days.
Steps to Help You Choose a 100-Day (or other Series) Project
Whether you have decided to play along with the official challenge, are still on the fence about it, or plan to do some modified version of a 100 day challenge, inspired by the big one, there are some steps you can take to help set yourself up for success or to help move the needle a bit closer to a final decision.
If you are still deciding, running through this process might help you narrow in on a project that is just sitting there waiting for you to glance at it and see it for the magical project it might prove to be.
10 Thoughts for Considering and Picking a 100 Day Project
Make a list. To start, just make the list. Make a list of all the ideas that come to mind, even if your internal critic immediately tells you it won’t work or isn’t what you want to do. Let yourself brainstorm and make a big list. Set a timer if that helps and just jot down as many ideas as you can for creative projects you might want to work on.
Don’t censor yourself as you make the list. Include even the ideas that feel surprising or really unexpected. Even things that seem off-the-wall or unexpected can be important in the brainstorming process. Just go ahead and make the list. As you think about one idea, you might find that something else you hadn’t even considered pops up in your head. Write that one down, too. Sometimes the most unexpected idea is the one that turns out to be the right idea. Sometimes, only by letting yourself think on the page do you tap into the mysterious, the unknown, the gold that is waiting within you.
Think about any creative goals or long-term art learning objectives you have. Are there ways you can build a project that will help you move ahead with a goal or with developing a specific skill? A long project like this can be wonderful as a way to deep-dive in a specific medium, technique, or approach.
Don’t limit your thinking to “topics.” Mediums, colors, palettes, devices, tools, all of these can form the basis of a really exciting and fulfilling project. Sometimes, not limiting the subject opens up the project in ways that are more sustaining.
Annotate your list. Once you have a list to work with, it’s time to winnow the list. First, go through and make some notes. When you look at the idea you wrote down (e.g., Post-it note drawings), think through and make additional notes about what you envision, why the idea came to mind, and whether or not you really feel it might have legs for 100 days. You don’t have to write a book about each idea, but a bit of annotation can go a long way in helping you really weed through your ideas. As you saw when I made my own list (in 2023), in some years, I’ve gone through and noted what goals the idea might connect to, what I might learn, what the drawbacks might be, if there are any risks, and so on.
Evaluate your list for logistics. Look at each idea and think briefly about what the idea involves. (Make notes in the margins or inline as you go through the list.) Do you have the materials you would need? If your work depends upon having inspiration/source material, do you have a supply or is there plenty available with a simple Internet search? Is the idea something you think you could fit into your schedule every day? Would you be able to do other projects too? How much time, minimum, would you need to dedicate each day to pull the project off in a way that you would find satisfying?
After making notes on logistics, cross off any ideas that you’ve identified that don’t seem right (for any reason). You might also want to circle or highlight ideas that really stand out, at this point, as good options.
Review the remaining ideas for emotional resonance. Of the ideas left on your list, think about how it will feel to repeat for 100 days. Some ideas we have for a series can easily stretch to 100 days or beyond. But some ideas are more suited to shorter series or even to occasional repeats. I might want to draw stuffed rabbits, for example, but I would have trouble finding 100 examples, which would make the series hard and maybe impossible. (This reality might have caused the idea to be crossed off in the previous steps.) But beyond logistics, I might also get tired of drawing a stuffed rabbit every day for 100 days straight. I might, instead, find it more rewarding to occasionally add them into my journal, maybe even once a week or once a month as a recurring element.
Only you can answer whether or not a topic feels sustainable and fulfilling. Does it make something thrum inside you when you think about it? Is it a topic you hold really close or a new skill, palette, medium, or whatever that you have been super excited to really dive into? These factors can really make a difference in whether or not a project can go the distance. Again, cross off ideas that might work logistically but that you just aren’t super excited about as the subject for 100 days.
Review the remaining ideas for any that seem too simple or not weighty enough. This is sometimes overlooked, and it may be that you really do want a project that only takes five minutes a day. But if you tend to do best with a project that you spend a bit more time on each day, then admitting that a project might not be “enough” to sustain over 100 days can be important. You also might find that some ideas that you choose and plan to only spend five minutes a day with, you enjoy so much you want to spend more time. Depending on how you structure the project, you might find that you don’t have “enough” opportunity each day to continue working on it even if you want to and have time.
Every year I have ideas I know would work. They might even be easy. But when I think they sound too easy, I know that I probably wouldn’t stick with them. There’s a difference in just doing a project to count to 100 and doing a project you, personally, will love. Find one you will love. Again, cross off ideas that just don’t seem to have the right weight.
Hopefully, at this point you will have a shorter list, maybe even a short list. If you are left with a few ideas and are feeling torn, give them a trial run. You don’t have to spend as much time as you might once the challenge starts, but do “one” of each of those ideas and see if you enjoy it. Does it match, at all, what you envisioned in terms of the doing, the process, and how you feel when it’s finished? Repeat it again the next day or on another day. Did you enjoy doing it again? I find that testing an idea 3-5 times often really helps me decide if I think a project will work. Sure, it means you’ll end up doing 103 or 105. But if the thought of doing those few extra makes you cringe, then chances are, this isn’t the right project.
You may find that some ideas that you really are drawn to you don’t really love in the actual doing. And that’s okay! Better to know before you commit to the project for the long haul! Or, you may still know that certain ideas and projects have potential value and meaning for you. It just may be that “this” isn’t the right time or the right year.
Pick the idea that you love most.
That sounds simple. It sounds oh so simple. Just pick a project you’ll love!
It isn’t always that straightforward though. We often have so many ideas, and we really do have to choose. I hope working through these steps and making and culling a list until you are left with one is helpful for you and that you find the perfect project.
I would love to know what you choose to do! Let me know your Instagram handle, too, and I’ll follow along.
Have a great series!